FM26 Shortlist of Staff Who Buy Youth Players - Sporting Director model

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FM26 Shortlists

This shortlist is built around a simple idea:

Let your General Manager or Director of Football find wonderkids for you.

In FM26, certain staff have recruitment tendencies. Some prioritise signing experienced players. Others prefer established stars. But a specific type actively:

Signs many youth players
Spends on youth signings
Signs U24 players for the first team
Signs U22 players for the first team
Signs young players to sell for profit

This shortlist filters for staff who demonstrate one or more of those tendencies.

What this file contains

Hundreds of staff members who are suitable for roles that can be told to initiate player signings, including:

Director of Football
Technical Director
Head of Youth Development
Assistant Manager

Each person included either:

Has explicit youth-focused recruitment tendencies

Is known for buying young players for development and resale

Or fits a long-term youth/profit model

How to use this shortlist

Download and load the shortlist into FM26
Open Staff Search
Import the shortlist
Sign the staff member(s) who best fits your club
Go to Staff Responsibilities
Set them to initiate signings and/or player sales for:
U18 / U19 team
U21 team
First team youth signings

They will then:

Scout youth talent
Identify suitable young players
Submit initial bids

You still make the final decision, so long as you set yourself responsible for ‘finalise signings’
You review the player, check the report, and decide whether to approve the signing.

This allows you to:

Run a self-sustaining youth model
Build a profit-driven transfer strategy
Reduce micromanagement
Simulate a real-world sporting director structure

You can also have them be responsible for selling youth players too. Leave them to produce their own youth player factory where they buy low and sell high.